


The Immortan's Wife

by evenhisfacewasanalias



Category: Mad Max Series (Movies), Mad Max:Fury Road
Genre: F/M, Fake Marriage, Fix-It, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-27
Updated: 2015-05-30
Packaged: 2018-04-01 10:56:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4017127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evenhisfacewasanalias/pseuds/evenhisfacewasanalias
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“No, absolutely not! I am not a thing!” Capable is livid. She knows that what Furiosa is suggesting can't be compared in any imaginable way with the horrors of her life before, but it still feels as though she is taking a huge step backwards. To finally gain back her independence, her own name, and then once again become a ‘Wife of the Immortan’? That she will be a wife in name only - and that the Immortan in question is Nux - does little to temper her indignation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“No, absolutely not! I am not a thing!” Capable is livid. She knows that what Furiosa is suggesting can't be compared in any imaginable way with the horrors of her life before, but it still feels as though she is taking a huge step backwards. To finally gain back her independence, her own name, and then once again become a ‘Wife of the Immortan’? That she will be a wife in name only - and that the Immortan in question is Nux - does little to temper her indignation.

Imperator Furiosa is not one for arguing, however, and she simply waits for Capable’s rage to burn itself out when faced with the reality of the situation. Capable has always been one of the most practical of the former wives, and Furiosa knows she will come to see reason. It is her own compassion that has made this charade necessary, and it will enable her to see it through.

Nux himself contributes even less to the conversation. His mind is still struggling to catch up with the new reality of surviving what he thought was his final ride on Fury Road. For several days after the battle he had waited for death to come find him out in the sand, alternating extreme agony with brief moments of utter peace - those moments where he imagines Capable and the others safe and sound on the other side - until he finally blacked out. Scavenger crews had found his mangled body beneath the wreckage of the war rig, barely clinging to life. By then the legend of his glorious sacrifice had made already its way throughout the Citadel, and so his reappearance and recovery made him an even more mythical figure. Many of its inhabitants begun referring to him as “Immortan”, though he steadfastly refused the title. Furiosa, surprisingly, encouraged it. Her own authority was never questioned, well-respected as she had always been by all within the city, but the War Boys now looked at Nux with newfound awe. Furiosa hoped that Nux’s example might help the other boys adjust to life without their ‘god’ and prevent them from recklessly forfeiting their lives as they once had. They would still be necessary to defend the city as she worked to restore the land and its people.

Capable had already tasked herself with the job of improving conditions for the War Boys as well as the Wretched, and was unwilling to simply let others carry out her orders. Capable’s kindness and good sense made her well-suited to the task, but it did not protect her from Citadel’s inhabitants, who could not be expected to overcome the cruelty inherent to life under Immortan Joe within a few short weeks. They would eventually come to respect the strength belied by her mercy, but for now it was dangerous for her to travel among them alone. As Nux’s ‘wife’, they would both enjoy the benefits of their newly elevated status. Nux’s influence would only increase with her by his side, and she would be safer even in his absence - no one would dare to harm the wife of an Immortan for fear of eternal retribution. Furiosa was thankful that Toast remained always with her, and that Dag and Cheedo spent most of their time tending to the Vuvalini’s seeds or the Mothers, so there was no need for them to take up their former titles. Despite Capable’s fondness for Nux - as demonstrated by her refusal to leave his bedside until it was certain he would recover fully - Furiosa understood her reasons for fighting this plan.

“Couldn’t I be made an Imperator, like you?” Capable changed tactics.

“Not unless you also wish to lead the War Boys into battle.” Furiosa responded decisively, though not unkindly.

“I’ve been in battle before, I could…” but her heart was not into it. She had done what she had to do to survive, she knew it was not in her to willingly join in hostilities. She cast her eyes downward, refusing to glance over at Nux, despite the fact that he was now openly staring at her. She liked Nux, and owed a great deal to him, but still she struggled with the idea of being once more the possession of another - even someone who only wished to protect her.

The decision comes much more easily to Nux. He does not yet fully understand what is being asked, but he knows that he will do anything if it ensures Capable’s safety. He also understands that he is not truly an Immortan, and does not deserve the wife of one, so he is not insulted by her repeated refusal of him. Some small part of him does still ache at her rejection, but he steadfastly pushes that part deep inside himself where he can ignore it. He wishes he could reassure her that he would never dare to make any claim on her, glorious and perfect as she is and much too good for the likes of him. He wants her to know that he could never expect her to act as true wife to him, for all he still wishes to offer her any protection within his power. But he can’t find words to explain any of his inner thoughts, and settles for simply looking at her, hoping to somehow convey his willingness to do whatever she asks of him.

It is that look that finally breaks through Capable’s stubbornness, just as she finally brings herself to peer over at him. She is reminded of the hopeful expression on his face as he willing sacrificed himself for her freedom. In his expression she had seen that he knew he faced almost certain death, and he was glad. With no more promise of Valhalla awaiting him, he could only hope that his actions would save the others. Nux, sweet Nux, would not consider her a possession, an object to bring himself greater worship. As much as she abhorred the title of wife, she found she did not truly mind the idea of Nux being her’s - even if it wasn’t real.

“I’ll do it.”


	2. Chapter 2

Since becoming his wife, very little has changed between Capable and Nux, though a great deal has changed between herself and the War Boys - seemingly overnight. Furiosa’s authority and occasional presence alongside her had previously kept her mostly safe from any real physical harm down in the catacombs, but it did not protect her the many smaller indignities she constantly faces. Now, however, Nux’s name has all of the boys, even the most intimidating among them, giving her space and deferring to her requests. They even allow her to finally free the ‘blood-bags’, and she is thankful to see that many healthy donors have been found that will willingly offer blood transfusions for extra food rations. There is still a long way to go towards salvaging the health of the War Boys and the common laborers. She is only able to admit within the privacy of her own mind that the reason for her impatience for fixing the boys may have more to do with the one who made this all possible.

Despite her progress in gaining the cooperation of the War Boys, her relationship with Nux had become somewhat more strained. He is no longer as open and affectionate as he was while she tended to his recovery. He still offers small touches when they are in the presence of others - to cement her place as his wife - but when they are alone he steadfastly avoids initiating any form of contact, and he is tense when she attempts to draw him near to her. He stays in the vault to help guard Capable and her sisters, Furiosa’s solitary quarters are also close by, but he remains in the separate sleeping space formerly occupied by the girl’s caretaker, and insists that Capable stay with the other women. Still, one evening after a very long, unsuccessful day of trying to prevent the workers from stealing food rations from each other, she finally convinces him to rest in her bunk. She remains sitting but gently pulls his head down into her lap as she quietly smoothes away the frown lines from him forehead. He was caught in the middle of several fights over supplies, and though he came out them without any real injury to himself, he remains frustrated and irritable. Some of his frustration is aimed at the workers, who have been given enough but are still so greedy for more, and willing to take it from others who need it. But mostly he is angry at himself for disappointing her. Back when he was still healing she had spoken to him of all her lovely plans to help restore the city. The future she had painted gleamed like chrome, and he wanted more than anything to be able to stand again and work and bring this vision to her. He had never known hope before, but now he saw it in her. He becomes lost in thoughts of this day going very differently, of pleasing his wife and commanding the respect of the workers, and allows Capable to continue caressing his head. It has been so hard to deny himself her soft touches, which feel like cool water against his fevered skin. His thoughts go further, imagining she is his real wife, that he gets to come back to her every day and have her touch him just like this. He pictures them sharing a bed each night, him curling up behind her and burying his face in her fiery hair. He imagines kissing her softly when they wake each morning, slipping his hands under her clothing and…

Nux throws himself off the bed immediately at this train thought, startling Capable in the process. He lands on the hard floor and begins awkwardly bashing his head against it to clear it of thoughts he should not be having. Capable is lovely and perfect and he should not be fantasizing about her as if he deserves her. She has been nothing but kind to him, a friend, and he will not take advantage of her, or even consider what it would be like to have her want him like that. The woman in question rushes down to keep him from hurting himself further, cradling his head into the softness of her chest. She looks down at him to see Nux’s eyes screwed shut and looking pained. It is on the tip of her tongue to ask him what’s wrong, but she knows he will not answer in this state. She tries something else instead.

“You were so good out there today, so brave…” She coos.

Nux is startled at her words, they were not what he was expecting to hear. And also, to his thoughts, not true. He pulls out of her embrace to look at her in disbelief.

“Didn’t help anything. Couldn’t stop them stealing, couldn’t fix any of it.” Nux is tempted to go back to bashing his skull but knows it will only upset Capable further.

“Nux, it’s alright. We couldn’t really expect to fix everything today. But you helped me, even when everyone else just told me it wouldn’t do much good. The workers may still be the same, but you’re different, and that gives me hope.” She smiles at him, hoping he’ll understand what he’s done for her today, all the days before it. Her sisters and Furiosa always indulged her ideas, but Nux is the one to help her with every crazy plan, no questions asked. She hadn’t expected him to take his new role so seriously. She knew as his wife he would do his best to keep her safe, and she had her made peace with likelihood that she would now need to take orders from him - at least in front of everyone else - but he had yet to ask anything of her, let alone demand it. Instead he offered to help her with each increasingly ambitious project.

Capable realized he was behaving as a real husband would, treating her as a friend and partner. No, not quite like a husband. He still avoided touching her when it was just them, or sharing a bed outside of this evening’s brief respite. But he could not completely hide his enjoyment when she was near, tense though he may be. Perhaps he was just shy? Or didn’t want to push her to do anything she didn’t want? The thought made her chest feel pleasantly tight. Maybe he just needed her to make the first move? Her smile turns mischievous.

Nux isn’t sure what to make of her praise, and even less sure what to think of this new expression on her face. She reaches over to carefully brush her fingers over where he has hurt himself, drawing her hand down to cup his cheek. He lets her coddle him, pressing his face into her small palm. She takes this as a promising sign, and begins inching ever closer to him. She slowly draws her face nearer, giving him plenty of time to pull back if he truly wishes to. But when he only widens his eyes at her proximity, she closes the gap between them and presses her lips to the corner of his mouth. He takes in a very audible breath and she moves to meet his lips fully. She finds them surprisingly soft, and enjoys the warmth that radiates from this single point of contact. Nux feels as though his entire body has been hooked up to a car battery, and any movement might cause his brain to short out. But when Capable begins moving their lips more firmly together, he finds he doesn’t mind the shocks that pulse through him. The kiss deepens without any prompting, and Nux finally dares to reach his hand into the curls that have been tempting him since he had seen it glowing blood red and so warm in the cold moonlight. Capable takes the hand not on Nux’s cheek and places it over his heart, feeling it beat faster than she thought possible. The sliding her hand across his shoulder and down his arm, she guides his free hand around her waist to slip up under her top. Nux has a sudden, painful realization that he was doing exactly what he had promised himself he wouldn’t. He draws his hand back quickly - he had sworn to do anything to keep Capable safe from danger, even from himself. He pulls back and she looks so bereft he almost gives in and returns to her embrace. So he does the only thing he can think to, and bolts.

***

Nux has started spending most of his waking hours down with the War Boys, sneaking down before Capable wakes and sometimes even working through the nights. He knows avoiding her isn’t helping, that it’s just making them both more miserable, but he can’t think of any other solution. He has made his shining goddess feel rejected, when he is the one who is unworthy of her. If he tries to explain this to her she will only confuse him with her lovely words, words that tempt him to believe he could almost be good enough. And he can think of no other way to express his humble devotion but to serve her down here with the other boys. So he spends his time directing the War Boy’s restless energies into rebuilding the fleet that will keep them safe and enacting some of Capable’s more intensive projects - including routing clean water to the boy’s living quarters and developing new armor for battle.

Furiosa and Nux both imply that this armor will make the boys look even more fearsome to their enemies, but secretly they hope that Capable’s idea will keep them safer in combat, with the added benefit of protecting them from the Sun’s damaging radiation. Capable previously had at least managed to trade the toxic warpaint the boys had been using for a harmless red clay, though a few well-placed threats from Furiosa had certainly helped. The boys quickly adapted to the clay (imagining to themselves they looked as though they were smeared with the blood of their enemies) and were surprisingly enthusiastic about the armor, competing with one another to create the most fearsome battle suit. The current champion had managed to affix a still-fleshy skull to the top of his helmet, but at least they seemed to be enjoying themselves and keeping busy.

The illusion of peace is shattered only a few days later. Capable has been down to visit the War Boys a few times since Nux has taken to hiding, and each time she discovers him he makes excuses to be just outside of her periphery. His brain was muddled from too many nights without sleep, and though he always remembers to remain near to her while she is here, he can no longer remember why it was so important that they are seen together. A few of the boys grow bolder in the face of his seeming disinterest in her. It starts off harmlessly, with some of the War Boys attempting to show off in front of her. She is more amused than anything at their displays, particularly at one boy who has thought to gift her with a small lizard. He intends for her to eat it, she thinks, but instead she brings it back to the vault as something of a pet. Dag has already named him Max. But then one day she finds herself face to chest with one of the largest boys. She had grown accustomed to them giving her space, so she is surprised to run directly into one of the boys, and even more so when his hands wrap around her arms, holding her in place. She looks up at his face to find a rather unpleasant smirk.

“If Immortan Nux doesn’t want you no more, I’ll take ya.” His words hit straight to where she is most vulnerable, and she freezes within his grip. She suddenly feels the full weight of his abandonment, and ashamed at her part in forcing Nux to leave.

“You dare to touch my wife?” Capable whips her head back to see Nux looking wild as he had when he had been trying to recapture the war rig for Joe. Only there was no anger in him before, as there is now, burning away any kindness in his features. He pushes other boys roughly out of his way as he approaches - the War Boy finally releases his grip but Nux is still barreling towards him. “I’ll shred you!” Nux roars, slamming his fist into the taller boys jaw. He delivers several more brutal hits, and shrugs off any returning blows. Nux may be smaller than his opponent but his fury is unmatched. Capable worries he actually might tear the other boy apart, and tries to call him off but it is impossible for Nux to hear anything over the roaring of blood in his body. Capable reaches out to him, gently grasping his arm which Nux immediately recognizes and slowly obeys. The other boy is already collapsing onto the ground as she pulls Nux back and turns him to face her. Wanting to end the fight without unraveling the tenuous respect her has regained, she stands on her toes to kiss him. It is not a gentle kiss, nothing like the one they had shared previously, or at all like the careful boy who once touched her as if she might break, but she knows this kiss isn’t between them. It is between the new Immortan and his wife, and now no one will question whether Nux wants her. No one, except her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty sure this chapter is the entire reason I love fake relationship plotlines so much, I hope you all enjoy it as well!

Two new members come to join their little family. A small, black-haired breeder named Bitzer and her sister Gash the Unsteady have stowed away on the new war rig on its return from Gas Town. Bitzer pulled one of the rig’s guns on the War Boy in the cabin as Gash trembles behind her, but the boy just laughs at her threat and has sense enough to drag them both up to Furiosa. The Imperator nods her acknowledgment of the girls and has Toast set them up in the vault. They both know this could mean trouble for the tentative peace they have forged with the new leader of Gas Town, but he is neither as powerful nor as fearsome as the People Eater was before him. He is entirely dependent on the Citadel for water, and unlikely to try and wage a full-scale war to recapture the girls after losing most of his army to her already. But she orders Bitzer and Gash remain within the vault and the greenhouses until she is certain.

Capable has her own duties to attend to elsewhere so the sisters' presence would impact her very little except for the fact that one of the girls has been given Capable’s bed. She does not mind the loss of her bunk so much, though she will miss its proximity to her sisters, but she is now required to share Nux’s sleeping quarters, and his bed. Things have been improving slowly between them since the fight in the catacombs, Nux now remaining close to her at all times but still silent on whether he wishes to be there.

There are moments where she feels their easy friendship resurfacing, when he shows off the new car he’s rigged for Furiosa or the morning she brings him to see the new seedlings. He’s as excitable as ever and grinning like a madman in his pride over the vehicle, even taking her hand to show her around each upgrade, but he stills beside her in the greenhouse. He looks in wonder at the new plants, especially those that have begun to flower. One specimen in particular boasts a delicate red bloom with a dewy sheen. It reminds him of her, singular and beautiful and so chrome. That mad grin returns and he listens attentively as she explains all the work Dag and Cheedo have done with the Vuvalini’s seeds. How soon they think they will bear fruit. Nux has no idea what a fruit is, but he likes the sound of it, and everything she tells him.

But the bed is a new problem. Nux still will avoids being too close when they are alone, and sharing a bed seems like it will be out of the question for him. It is. He immediately declares he will sleep on the floor at the entrance of the vault, as if he was their guard dog.

“Nux, you need to sleep in a bed, the floor is cold and it will make you sick again…” Capable tries to reason with him, but he is stubborn.

“Won’t get sick again. Bed’s too soft anyway. This is better, perfect for Nux.” He’s rather pleased with his solution, all things considered. Capable can have a bed again and he can better protect all of them by the door. The back of his mind whispers that the bed is not too soft, that she is too soft, too precious. He spares a single moment to enjoy the idea that she wishes to share his bed, but knows it is asking for too much. The floor is not so bad. He lays down on it to show her that he is fine.

But all Capable sees is him lying prostrate on the ground, laying like he did when he returned from the wastelands barely alive. She panics and pushes at him to get up, and it is the sight of her worried face that finally makes him relent to a compromise. They will take the bed in shifts, though Nux knows he will find little sleep with Capable wandering around on her own.

***

Capable also struggles to find sleep in this quiet room. For almost as long as she can remember she has shared a room, and it had been a long time since she was separated from her sisters. It is only a few nights into their pointless arrangement when she falls into a fitful sleep, dreaming of the time before.

In truth Nux isn’t even trying to sleep most nights. Usually he spends his evenings skulking around just outside the vault to keep watch over his sleeping wife and her sisters, though in all honestly Furiosa’s reign has kept them all safer than they've ever been. In the early morning hours he pretends to accept the bed from her, but he only allows himself to rest while she remains in the vault. The rest of the morning he secretly lingers nearby as she goes about her daily tasks, until it becomes an believable hour to find her again, hiding his exhaustion by rushing around even more than usual.

Tonight he is barely outside the door when he hears the small whimpers coming from Capable's room (he can't think of it as their's). He moves quickly to her side and finds her sleeping but looking pained. She cries out more loudly and begins to struggle within the sheets. Nux can recognize the signs of her nightmare, but he is unsure what to do. He tentatively lays one of his hands on her shoulder in what he hopes is a soothing gesture, but she jerks awake at his touch. For several moments she is still in the dream, still panicking, and now thrashing even more wildly until Nux finally pulls her into his arms. After a brief struggle she finally recognizes his gangly form, stilling within his embrace. She buries her face into his shoulder, the heat of his skin reminding her of curling up with this strange boy on cold nights in the war rig. She misses the easy closeness of those days, but not the fear and loss that came along with them. Tonight she was dreaming of a different loss, and tries to explain this to him.

“I was remembering. It was the night I was taken, when I was brought to become a wife…” Nux makes an uncomfortable sound at the reminder that she once again had little choice but to become the wife of some brute. That he had no other way to keep the fiery girl safe.

Capable realizes his train of thought, and pauses recounting the memory. She wants to tell him her whole story, some day, but right now this moment between them is more important. “You’re not Joe, Nux. Not even close.”

Enough has happened that Nux does not take this as an insult as he once would have. “I made you my wife, even though you didn’t want me to.” He may not be the monster Joe was, but he has still taken what wasn’t his. He can admit to himself that hadn’t even tried to come up with another solution. He knew she was not really his, but he couldn’t bear the thought of another claiming her.

“I didn’t want to be a wife again, like before, but I’m glad it was you.” It’s not quite an admission that she wants to be with him, but she is still afraid he is only doing this to keep her safe. That he would have taken any of her sisters as wives had they needed his protection. The thought of it makes her chest ache unpleasantly. Nux glances down at the still troubled expression on her face.

“Are you sure?”

“Stay here with me? Please.” It’s perhaps more than she wanted to admit this night, but she can’t help but settle deeper into his comfortable embrace. She doesn’t care right now that this may make her appear weak. They have both already witnessed the other in so many moments of powerlessness and she never fears revealing her vulnerability to him, barring that of her own feelings towards him. He still looks hesitant, and she asks for what she knows he can’t refuse. “Help me keep me safe from the dreams?”

***

This is torture. This is hell and Valhalla all rolled up into one. Nux is laying tense on his side with Capable curled back against him, breathing quietly in sleep. Capable is currently barely clothed in gauze like the first day they met - she sleeps in little else. She tries to get him to remove his pants as well, but he only removes his belts or anything that could potentially hurt her. This still puts too much of their skin in contact, and he is once again overwhelmed by the electricity of it. He had tried to maintain some distance between their bodies, but she had simply pressed herself back into him, pulling his arms around her. She explained to him that he was warmer than her blankets and then refused to let him move. Now he finds that he can’t. Or, more truthfully, that he doesn’t wish to. Capable is all softness against him, and he presses his face into the crook of her neck to glory in the scent of her - she smells of motor oil and fresh earth and green things and something he can't quite name but revels in.

He is not sure how he’ll ever get to sleep like this but eventually exhaustion takes him.

***

She wakes sometime later to Nux shifting restlessly behind her. He has wrapped himself even more fully around her and is making soft noises in his sleep as he squirms against her. At first she thinks she has somehow passed her nightmares onto him, until she feels his hard length press intimately against the bare skin of her back, even through his rough pants. He is still moving slowly and shallowly against her, and she might not even have woken but for his warm panting so close to her ear. Nux unconsciously pulls her body more tightly against his own and lets out an actual moan at the feeling. She tries not to giggle too loudly at his obvious enjoyment of the dream.

“Capable…”

Hearing him murmur her name is enough to stop her laughter. She hadn’t considered he might be dreaming about her. Does this mean he does want her? Desire her in the same way she desires him? She can’t be sure what he feels for her when they are awake, but his dreams of her are enough to make her bold. She presses back into his muted thrusts, drawing out another moan from him. His hands are no longer still and she feels the one tucked beneath her knead at her flesh while the other strokes lightly over her stomach. Heat pools in her belly simply from his sleepy caresses and she unconsciously begins moving with him. Capable considers pulling his hand down to where she needs it the most, or waking him so they can reenact his dream, but she knows that even if he wants her he is not yet ready, and she doesn't wish to push him. Reminding herself how easily she had scared him off before, she forces her own body to still. She is about to put a little space between herself and the sleepy affair going on behind her, but his own body quiets at the loss of her responses. She pretends she is not disappointed at his stillness, but then he snuffles adorably into his neck and it’s enough to just have this for now.

She is half asleep when she feels him wake behind her to press his lips softly into her shoulder. He stealthfully removes himself from their bed to go about his morning duties. Capable allows herself to feign sleep for a few moments more but can’t resist the smile that sneaks onto her lips.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are finally escalating!

Capable isn't sure how much more she can take of this. Sharing a bed with Nux has been tempting enough, but now he keeps teasing her with small touches whenever they are alone. It’s not the easy way he touched her when they first became friendly, often done thoughtlessly or to merely seek comfort. Now it is as though he is reaching through some cage of his own making, taking her hand in his before he can stop himself, or finding an excuse to brush up against her. She reminds herself daily that she shouldn’t push for more, that things are getting better now, and one misstep could ruin all the progress they’ve made. But he is driving her crazy!

Even before she had the chance to know and care for him, she always recognized his beauty. He was wild-eyed and so intense at their first encounter, and it was impossible to ignore his presence. When they met again in the back of the rig he was very much changed, and still she found she could not look away. His warpaint had worn away and she could see the boy underneath, somehow wonderfully soft despite being all harsh angles. She thinks it was his eyes, so round and wide and uncertain that made him seem more delicate to her. She now has had ample opportunity to admire the lithe strength of body, the tempting plushness of his lips, and the bright eyes that are a still little wild. She catches herself imagining more and more how she might one day enjoy all that he is.

***

Capable finds herself having a rare moment alone with her thoughts as she lounges idly in the room she shares with Nux, unable to bring herself to do much more in the midday heat. With Bitzer and Gash to tend to the greenhouse, Dag and Cheedo have been working more and more with the Wretched to help them cultivate their own crops. More and more of the Citadel is becoming green. The War Boys are getting restless with no battles to fight, and Nux has pleaded with her not to try and visit today. Furiosa and Toast have everything else under their control, and there’s not much for her to do. It's a bit like before, trapped in the vault with nothing to do but wish she was somewhere else. But things are different now, she is no longer trapped, and is free to go wherever she pleases. She wants to go to Nux, but he will only worry about her, so she resists. She instead imagines him leaving the War Boys to join her in here, enjoying some rare time alone with none of the other girls expected back for hours.

In her mind Nux is walking in, a little sweaty and with the usual streaks of motor oil and clay from working with the Repair Boys, but he is grinning at her. Heedless of the mess he’s making he comes over to sit on the bed with her. He carefully strokes his fingers down her arm, leaving black streaks in their wake. Normally he would take this time to listen to her talk about her day, about her plans for the days to come, but this day he leans over to kiss her without a word. She imagines his arms around her, his lips trailing down her neck. She giggles at the idea of him leaving filthy hands prints over her breasts as he cups her through her top, but her laughter turns into a quiet moan when she brings her own hands up to her chest. Her own actions become thoughts of him slipping off her top and brushing his fingers across her sensitized nipples. She is unsure whether her Nux would ever be this bold in reality, but it is her dream and neither one of them has to hold back.

She's had glimpses of his naked form before and fills in for this fantasy version of him with these memories as he strips off both their pants. Her skin feels hotter than she thought possible in the already stifling room, and it is a relief to lie naked on top of the sheets. But the relief doesn’t last for long, she is still wound too tightly from weeks of having Nux so close but not in the way she wants him. This Nux doesn’t torment her though, and he brings his hand down right where she needs it most. Her smaller hand doesn’t quite compare to his broader one, but work has made her fingers rougher and she can imagine he is the one providing this delicious friction where she is slick and warm. She dips two fingers in quickly, neatly imitating the size one of his own, and it fills her deliciously. But after a few lazy thrusts she has to add another finger, and presses her palm down into the sensitive bundle of nerves above where her fingers continue to shallowly plunge into her. The hand still at her breast resumes its work as she quickens her pace. She can feel herself nearer the precipice, and she is almost scared to fall over it with how tightly she has been wound up by this vision of Nux as well as the real one. But she imagines his sweet voice telling her how lovely she is like this and that’s all it takes. She trembles violently for several long seconds, taking longer than she would have thought possible to finally come back down. Her entire body is boneless and sated, and she completes her fantasy by imagining that the real Nux had caught her touching herself to thoughts of him.

But it's not Nux that interrupts her reverie. Just as she is pulling the sheets back over her cooling body, Toast rushes in to tell her the Gas Town boys are attacking the Citadel.

***

By the time she reaches the catacombs, she is informed that Imperator Furiosa and Immortan Nux have already led many of the War Boys off. A convoy of war vehicles can be seen at the outskirts of the Citadel, racing over from Gas Town. Capable herself helps arm the remaining boys to send some off to meet the intruders, and preparing the rest to defend the people and supplies left behind in case this is merely a diversion tactic. She refuses to remain idle for even a second so she can’t think about not being able to see Nux before he rushed into the fray.

Nux is in rapture. He leads the pack driving his shiny new rig with Furiosa not far behind, barking out orders at the War Boys who are chomping at the bit for some real action. He is ready for a fight as well, and it couldn’t be a lovelier day for it! His skin is painted red as Capable’s hair under his armor and the bright sun is making his blood sing.

He is the first to meet the black cars with their black riders and his lancer scores a direct hit with his explosives. The Gas Town boys shoot at him but the new armor deflects the worst of it. Other War Boys join them, turning the car beside him into not more than a flaming wreckage. Furiosa herself comes in shooting with inhuman accuracy, taking out the drivers before executing their riders. But without the promise of Joe’s Valhalla, her War Boys are fighting to survive rather than riding to die. The two sides are almost evenly matched in terms of cars and warriors, but the enemy's kamikaze tactics have badly damaged several of the rigs. Fewer boys are lost but at least four vehicles are rendered useless.

Nux’s own car is nearly taken out. He hands the wheel over to his comrade and climbs onto the hood to pry open the torched intake before the engine overheats. One of the pole cats swoops down at him during the repairs, managing to get a small knife beneath his armor before Nux pulls him off the pole. They grapple on the hood, both leaving numerous bruises in their wake, until Nux is able to press his attacker against the searing hot intake. The other warrior finally rolls off the car only to be caught under the tires of a fellow Gas Town boy. Nux  turns his attention to shooting the boys attacking the roof of Furiosa’s rig. He is so focused on knocking each one off he only has a split second to try and dodge the spear that still rips into his side. It didn’t go through him but there is a lot of blood, mixing with the clay to create a sticky mess. His vision is going a little black at the edges but the adrenaline keeps him going. He leaps up on the hood with a loud war cry and readies himself for the next onslaught.

***

Capable has tried to keep herself busy but eventually she gives in to the temptation to scan the horizon. Black smoke rises from the sands in this the distance and for a while that is all she sees until Furiosa’s rig appears from out of the ash. She lets out the breath she had been holding. They have won. She relaxes slightly and allows herself to count each vehicle as it emerges. Only about half the cars are returning to the Citadel, but she is thankful to see Nux’s among them. She races out to meet the returning heroes, reaching the edge of the platform as they are unloading the battered but cheerful War Boys. She can’t find Nux in the crowd of rowdy War Boys, which is starting to worry her. She sees his car but another War Boy steps out of the driver's seat. She searches for Furiosa instead and rushes over to her once spotted. Their leader finally looks over to her and when their eyes meet her worst fears are confirmed…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m super sorry to leave you guys like that but I had to! On a more light-hearted note, it is nearly impossible to find a name for those guys on the poles that doesn’t sound like they belong in a circus-themed gay porno.


	5. Chapter 5

He’s lost a lot of blood. Too much. The Organic Mechanic has stitched him up but isn’t hopeful, tells them there’s not a blood-bag around that won’t just kill him faster. He needs O negative, but right now that’s in short supply. The Mechanic has to move on and patch up the other Boys, the ones who stand a chance. Furiosa understands he has done all he can, but Capable is unwilling to give up hope.

“What about my blood?” She begs. There’s suddenly a needle in her finger and a frown on the Mechanic’s face, “A negative, no good.”

She looks over at Furiosa, but doesn’t even need to ask. “AB positive,” good for her, not for Nux.

Capable’s eyes are watery as she looks everywhere but at where Nux is running out time, trying to find a different answer. Unable to accept the one she’s been given.

Furiosa leaves without Capable’s even noticing, lost as she is in her grief. It has been a long time since Furiosa had anything remotely resembling a family, and she is coming to remember all of the obligations that come along with letting yourself become attached to another person's happiness. She knows it is too dangerous to promise Capable anything out loud, so she simply makes the vow to herself.

***

In the end it’s Cheedo’s blood that saves Nux. Furiosa drags all of the girls down to the blood bank for testing, pulling the Mechanic away from the another War Boy and moving to stitch him up herself. Cheedo is the only match, and even though she nearly faints at the sight of the needle, she will endure for Nux’s sake. Capable isn’t the only sister fond of the wild-eyed boy.

Capable is torn between wanting to comfort Cheedo or holding on to Nux, and settles for wrapping an arm around her sister and reaching out to grasp Nux’s limp hand, squeezing both more tightly when she thinks what might have happened.

Eventually it is necessary for Cheedo to return to her bunk to recover from the transfusion, and the sisters leave Capable alone with Nux and their silent prayers. She wraps both of her hands around his and waits for him to come back to her. Though it seems an eternity, it is not so long before his eyes begin to flutter open and shut again. He’s still weak, but he’s there with her.

“Please don’t ever do this to me again. Don’t you dare die on me!” There are so many things she meant to say to him, to tell him how much he means to her, but she finds herself scolding him for nearly dying! But she can’t bear the alternative right now.

“Can’t die, always come back.” He lets out a breath that’s almost a chuckle, eyes still shut and his lips barely moving. She hopes more than anything that what he says is true, that he will always come back to her. “Did I do good?”

“You did so good,” tears are pouring out of her eyes now, but he can’t see them. “They were rogue warriors from Gas Town, testing the Citadel’s defenses. They saw how strong we are, how strong you are.” Nux allows himself a small smile at this, but his smile turns to concern when he finally opens his eyes. He doesn’t ask the obvious question, just reaches up to brush away her tears.

“I nearly lost you today, I was so scared…” She is finally able to admit this much. “I… I can’t do this any more.”

“Do what anymore?”

“Pretend to be married to you.” If Nux thought the spear piercing his side was painful, it was nothing compared to what her words do to his very heart.

“You.. you don’t want to be a wife anymore?” He knew this day would come, that she would realize he wasn’t good enough for her. He was just a half-life fool.

“I never wanted to be anyone's wife, I just wanted to be yours.” Nux feels dizzy, like someone else has hit the brakes too fast. Capable has left him completely thrown, and it takes his mind several moments to catch up.

“But I’m not…” Nux isn’t sure why he’s arguing, he may not deserve her, but he also can’t deny his lovely girl anything.

“You are, Nux. You’re strong and perfect and…chrome!” Nux grins at her words. He’s lying bloody and broken before her and she still thinks he’s worthy. Maybe it’s time he finally believed her.

***

Epilogue

Nux’s confidence takes her by surprise. He’s barely out of the blood bank before he finds her and leads her up the vault. Her sisters make swift excuses to be elsewhere, but Nux doesn’t bat an eye at their obvious attempt at giving them some privacy. He simply presses her against the wall to kiss her thoroughly, making up for lost time before moving to kiss along her jaw. Her skin feels like cool water against his fevered body, and he can’t get enough of touching her. His hands move under her shirt to stroke the soft skin of her waist, groaning at the feel of her. In all of her fantasies about Nux, she never imagines he’d be so noisy.

“Want you. Always wanted you. Never though I’d have anything so soft, so shiny…” All the things he’s wanted to tell her come pouring out against her skin. He doesn’t hesitate to slide his hands up her sides, but he pulls back to watch her face for any sign of protest as he traces the underside of her breasts. He looks entirely wild to her in this moment, as he often looks on Fury Road. She worries for a moment that he is approaching her like he would a battle, but quickly realizes this is simply how he looks when he is certain of his purpose, whether behind the wheel of his rig or in here, bringing pleasure to her. It’s intoxicating, how powerful and sexy he makes her feel. She stands up on her toes to kiss the spot right beneath his chin, working her way back along his jaw until she can nip at his ear. His response is to involuntarily tighten his hands upon her breasts, letting out a startled moan, and she can’t resist doing it again to the ear if front of her as well as to its mate. Nux’s eyes now appear almost glazed over but no less wild. He reaches down to her hips to lift her up in one swift motion, his strength taking her by surprise considering he had only recently been rescued from death’s clutches. He ignores the shakiness of his legs and the pain in his side as her legs wrap around where the Organic Mechanic has stitched him back together. The hurt is far less interesting than carrying Capable to their shared bed, where he is free to remove all the barriers between himself and her shiny flesh.

He makes quick work of stripping them both of their clothing. Now that she is laid completely bare to him, his frantic mood is replaced with awe. “So lovely, so shiny…”

No less confident but perhaps more carefully he sets about mapping every inch of her. Capable gently guides him so they are lying side by side, both enjoying the exploration of the other. He is fascinated by the soft swell of her chest and lavishes attention there until she is practically writhing in his lap. Capable once again presses into Nux’s side and this time he cannot hide the hiss of pain that escapes. Thoroughly chastened, she slides her legs down his own and he takes advantage of the space this creates to move his hand between their bodies. He loses a bit of his previous bravado as he is confronted with this most intimate part of her, but she is very willing to guide him through it. He is quick to learn, however, and it is not long before she is pushing him back so she can have him fully inside her.

The position is not ideal, but they are both reluctant to forgo the closeness of this arrangement. Their eyes meet as Nux slowly enters her, trembling with the effort of holding himself back. Nux can understand why Joe had forbidden the War Boys from so much as touching his wives, surely none would have fought so fiercely once they had discovered Valhalla in this life. Praise be, but she feels incredible around him! He tells her this in so many broken words.

Capable herself is equally surprised at the pleasure of their union. She realizes the release she had brought herself with her own hands pales in comparison to the satisfaction of being filled so completely. She relishes the stretch as he remains still inside her, but soon it is not enough for either of them. She shifts her hips towards him and he matches her, creating a shallow rhythm between them. Nux takes advantage of their position to kiss her again, until the distraction of their lower bodies becomes too much and they simply breath sharp gasps and low moans into one another’s lips.

Soon the shallow angle is not enough to satisfy either of them, and Nux rolls onto his back, pulling Capable on top of him so she is fully seated on his hips. This new position makes each short thrust even more intense, and their pace begins to build. Nux is gripping Capable’s hips tightly enough that she imagines there will be ten perfect bruises there tomorrow, but right now it feels wonderful as he guides her hips more quickly over his own. She is certain that she is no longer able to avoid putting pressure on his injuries, but his face only reveals pleasure.

Nux doesn’t think he will last much longer when faced with the perfect heat of her. He tries to convey this to her, but he is beyond coherent speech right now, merely uttering endearing nonsense to the ceiling above. Thankfully Capable guesses at the sentiment and she slips a hand between them to bring herself along faster. In the end she is the first to peak, and the sight of her in ecstasy above him brings him to follow closely behind her. His hands finally move from her hips to pull her into a tight embrace, letting her know without words that he will always return to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for making everyone worry, but of course Nux and Capable were always going to have a happy ending. I hope you guys enjoyed checking "pretend marriage" off your fandom cliche bingo card (which are a real thing).


End file.
